Such apparatuses are known from a number of patents. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,548,054, 4,637,221, 4,708,489 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,965 all describe machines or apparatuses comprising an auger or agitator with a helical thread or cutter extending into a funnel or container for holding the ice cream and additives. The auger and funnel are relatively rotatable, and after some rotation the ice cream and additives have obtained a semiliquid condition which is attractive to consumers.
The ice cream is supplied in small, rather hard blocks. A mixing of the ice cream thus causes a rather heavy transient loading of the auger during the start of the mixing, which in turn means a rather heavy loading of the driver, which normally will be an electric motor. This is per se a problem which can be easily overcome by a correct sizing of the motor. The market price of an ice cream mixing apparatus does, however, not justify a big, costly motor, and an ice cream mixing apparatus which can utilise a small electric motor as the auger driver, would therefore be favorable.